Hierarchy Sucks!

I have had my hens for about a year and a half now. They are all laying eggs. All 7 of my hens are different breeds. They are kept in an enclosed coop for their safety. There is a fox that likes to look at them.

For a while now, I have watched their behavior. I took notice of the pecking order situation. The largest hen, obviously, is at the top. They all seem to attack the one hen whenever the large one starts it. The attacked hen has had minor injuries for which I stopped the bleeding and placed her back in with them. They have been getting more violent though. I am sure that theyes broke part of her upper beak and now the bone is showing

Today, I go back to check on them to look for eggs and the white hen is lying on the ground by the door of the coop. She was once again attacked. This is the worst injury I have seen on her yet. It is not bleeding very much but bubbly fluid continues to leak out.

She also has a rather odd gait and tends to lie down a lot. Not just now but for a while. I don't know if that is just her being her or something else is wrong.

Now, my dad does not consider them pets so he does not really care too much when she gets hurt. Me, on the other hand, it breaks my heart. I have totally gained this hen's trust by cleaning her wounds. She is still skittish an I would be too if I was constantly picked on.

I'm just wondering if there is anything I can do to help her. Should I use super glue to close the wound? Should I put neosporin on it? My dad will not take them to a vet so I need home remedies.

How long is she like this?
Is she eating drinking?
Is the wounds closing up?
Did you take her to the vet
And do you know what attacked her?
I hope she gets better Edited by ChickenGrass - 2/23/16 at 1:27pm

Flush the wound out as best you can then apply some plain Neosporin, chickens usually heal up very well but you need to keep her away from the others until she heals. If she has to go back with them sooner get some BlueKote and cover up those wounds and keep a very close eye on them.

You also need to address why this is happening. How much space do these birds have in the coop and how much run space do they have? Chickens are easily stressed to the point of pecking like this if they are kept in too small a space.

If you have one bird that seems to instigate these attacks then pull that bird out for an extended time out. Like a couple of weeks kept separate. Then put her back in and see if she's had any attitude adjustment during that time. While she's out observe the others carefully, see if they all get along with her gone or if there are other trouble makers. I know it all sounds like a lot of work but a pecking problem is a big problem and often not easily solved. There may also be something wrong with this hen that was pecked that is causing the others to go after her. Sometimes this happens if a hen is sick or weak or displays other off behavior.

wife to long suffering husband who has built more miles of fence, barns, coops and enclosures then one man should have to, two teenage boys, current flock of 13 assorted hens, 1 big red roo and a list of other assorted farm animals.

wife to long suffering husband who has built more miles of fence, barns, coops and enclosures then one man should have to, two teenage boys, current flock of 13 assorted hens, 1 big red roo and a list of other assorted farm animals.

Flush the wound out as best you can then apply some plain Neosporin, chickens usually heal up very well but you need to keep her away from the others until she heals. If she has to go back with them sooner get some BlueKote and cover up those wounds and keep a very close eye on them.

You also need to address why this is happening. How much space do these birds have in the coop and how much run space do they have? Chickens are easily stressed to the point of pecking like this if they are kept in too small a space.

If you have one bird that seems to instigate these attacks then pull that bird out for an extended time out. Like a couple of weeks kept separate. Then put her back in and see if she's had any attitude adjustment during that time. While she's out observe the others carefully, see if they all get along with her gone or if there are other trouble makers. I know it all sounds like a lot of work but a pecking problem is a big problem and often not easily solved. There may also be something wrong with this hen that was pecked that is causing the others to go after her. Sometimes this happens if a hen is sick or weak or displays other off behavior.